Motorists Urged To Exercise Caution Following Ophelia

AA Ireland has urged motorists to exercise caution and expect delays on many routes across the country as the clean-up operation following Hurricane Ophelia continues.

The motoring organisation is reminding drivers that even though conditions will have eased by the time most begin their commute to work on Tuesday morning, debris and fallen trees are still likely to cause issues on a number of major routes.

“By Monday afternoon our AA Roadwatch team had over 150 confirmed incidents involving fallen trees on Irish roads. While some of these may have been cleared by now, many obstructions are likely to still be in place as weather conditions hampered clean-up efforts on Monday,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “While the storm may have passed over us much of the damage it caused will still be visible for the next 24-48 hours so it’s important that motorists check for updates on their routes before they depart, allow extra travel time and exercise additional caution.”

The organisation is also reminding motorists to be on the lookout for vulnerable road users, as footpaths and cycle lanes are also likely to be affected.

“In some areas cyclists and pedestrians may be forced to navigate between traffic in order to avoid obstructions and the message to motorists is to be vigilant in order to avoid causing any injury to these road users,” Faughnan added. “Debris and fallen trees will make the roads more dangerous for everyone in the coming days so it’s important that we all exercise additional caution to help minimise any further damage that Ophelia could cause.”

Motorists and homeowners are also advised that their insurance policies will cover them if they need to make a claim as a result of storm damage, despite a number of claims made on social media. In light of storm damage, the AA is expecting to deal with a large volume of claims from its car and home insurance in the coming days.